Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - Could your doctor be liable for prescribing Atkins?

http://www.msnbc.com/news/788799.asp#BODY

Check out the article link above. The article is Titled "Fat Suits: Who’s to blame for flab?" It mostly discusses the crazy guy suing Fast food for making him unhealthy, but I'll quote the interesting part about Atkins:

"Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine — an advocacy group that has a beef with beef — applauds the Barber lawsuit.
“There is no question we have to take responsibility for our activities but it’s harder when people aren’t entirely clear what their risks are. There are clear-cut risks of tobacco, but the risks of going into a fast food restaurant are unclear,” Barnard said.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is using this ad to warn doctors against prescribing high-protein diets.
So he argues people who give faulty nutrition information should be liable, whether it’s food industry advertisements that suggest beef is as healthy as chicken or doctors who prescribe the Atkin’s diet — the controversial meat-heavy, low-carb weight-loss regimen — to their patients.
In fact, PCRM is launching an ad campaign next week in medical journals warning doctors they could be liable for any health problems resulting from the high-protein diet, such as diabetes or kidney stones.
“I know we’re playing hardball,” Barnard said. “The tactic is to try to get purveyors of bad diets to back off and provide healthier diets.”